DBH: The Stratford Tower - The Other Ending
by WayWardWonderer
Summary: An alternate outcome when Connor confronts the deviant in the kitchen, and is subsequently attacked being left for death. This time Hank finds Connor in time and has the chance to save his injured partner before he shuts down.


"Hank... Hank, I need help..."

Connor's voice was a pitifully hoarse whisper despite the mounting fear that was surging through his mind as he called out desperately to his only friend. Watching the deviant who had ripped the Thirium pump regulator from his chest toss the vital biocomponent onto the kitchen floor of StratFord Tower's broadcast room without a second glance, the same deviant who had stabbed a large kitchen knife through his hand, Connor was helpless as the blaring alarm in his own head sounded off and flashed a warning screen counting down to his own imminent death.

Looking down at himself Connor was frozen by the horrific sight of the blue colored Thirium leaking from the large, bloody hole left behind in his abdomen marking the sight of the brutal assault by the deviant.

The countdown clock in his visual processor continued to dwindle to less than sixty seconds as the bleeding android tried to push the terror from his mind and find a solution to his very unexpected and unusual predicament.

Connor's gaze drifted upward slightly from his abdomen to a nearby chair tucked under a small table. Reaching out with his leg he kicked over the chair hoping the loud clatter would catch someone's ear and bring them into the kitchen to identify the sound, but no one arrived. The other two obedient androids standing perfectly idle to his left against the wall didn't even react to the commotion.

Only thirty seconds left.

Looking over at his left hand, looking at the knife that had been stabbed through his palm and had subsequently impaled the android to the countertop against his will, he tried to use his right hand to grip the handle and pull it loose, but his grip was already considerably weaker due to his Thirium loss.

Twenty seconds.

Utilizing as much strength as he could muster Connor grasped onto the handle of knife as tightly as possible and yanked it free from his palm with one motion. Collapsing face first onto the floor of the kitchen Connor remained stunned for a few seconds before he lifted his head up just enough to spot the torn away biocomponent resting unguarded in the middle of the floor. Instinctively Connor began using his arms to crawl forward along the floor toward his much needed biocomponent pulsing weakly just a few inches from his blood covered hands, his countdown clock dangerously close to zero.

Ten seconds.

"Hank..." Connor called out again, this time his voice louder as panic truly took hold of his mind. "Hank! I need help!..."

Eight seconds.

Hank walked into the kitchen to continue his investigation and to check in on his android partner. It was then he spotted the wounded android bleeding on the ground as he clawed his way to the biocomponent so tantalizingly close to his hand.

"Connor! Hang on son, hang on, hang on!" Rushing over to the downed android Hank knelt on the floor and turned Connor, by his shoulders, over from his bloodied stomach onto his back and held the android in his arms. "We're gonna' save you, hang on!... Here, here..."

Five seconds.

"Deviant!" Connor managed to blurt out as his systems began to power down. His brown eyes were distant and his artificial breathing began slower, heavier as his waning strength faded. "...There was..." His eyes drifted upward toward Hank's face as if silently pleading for the detective to save his life; but even still the mission came first. "a... d-deviant!..."

Three seconds.

Connor let out a weak gasp as his eyes fell shut and he became limp in Hank's arms, his bloodied left hand draped heavily over his eerily stilled chest.

"Connor?" The detective saw the android's red L.E.D. pulsing slower and slower. Noticing the huge stain of Thirium over the front of Connor's shirt and the hole in his abdomen beneath Hank glanced about the kitchen to try to figure out just what the hell happened. It was then he saw the biocomponent resting right next to his knee. "Shit!"

Hank grabbed onto the vital piece of technology and, hardly tech savvy, pressed it down into the hole in Connor's abdomen and held his hand in place as he waited for a response.

"Connor?" The android remained limp in his arms, his L.E.D. pulsing from red to gray in color. "Connor... no."

Lifting his hand away from Connor's abdomen Hank rested it against the downed android's forehead sympathetically.

Hank was the furthest thing from being an android technician, and was the last person who could even fathom a way to aid a downed android; no matter how human Connor looked he was still a machine.

But he was a machine that could _breathe_. Hank had heard it! Connor let out a weak gasp of pain as he shutdown in Hank's arms, hell, he had even seen Connor's chest suddenly shudder as his body fell still and lifeless. If Connor could breathe then maybe there were other humanoid abilities the machine could imitate; like a pulse or even a heartbeat!

"I gotta' at least try..." Hank told himself as he carefully laid Connor down on the floor from the comforting support of his own arms. Pulling open the android's already unbuttoned shirt to more fully expose Connor's motionless chest. and placing one hand over top of the other and interlacing his fingers together to create a single fist Hank placed his hands down over the center of Connor's chest and began to compress with a controlled strength and rhythm. "What the fuck am I doing?"

Hank wasn't sure if there was any form of CPR designed specifically for androids, or if there was a way to jumpstart the android's processor after falling into shutdown, and there was no one he could ask!

As he compressed Connor's chest, feeling an eerie chill crawl up his spine as the artificial skin under his palm felt too natural and the density of Connor's chest was exactly like that of a human, Hank mentally counted the compressions as he stared down at the bloody wound over the android's abdomen.

"What the hell happened to you?" Shaking his head Hank focused down on Connor's peaceful face; eyes closed and jaw slightly slack, as he continued to compress the inhuman heart under his hand. "Come on kid, humor me! Breathe! Or... you know... respond! Wake up, damn it!"

Suddenly Connor's eyes shot open as he took in a sharp gasping, pained breath and jerked back to life much to Hank's surprise beneath his hands.

"Easy, son!" Hank didn't let Connor move away from the floor or try to get up. "Don't move, don't move! You're hurt!"

"H-Hank..." Connor looked up at the detective again, his eyes much more alert as his L.E.D. illuminated to a brighter red then cycled into yellow. "...the... deviant!"

"Don't worry about it, we'll find it." Hank soothed as he replaced his hand over Connor's bloodied abdomen. "We have the surveillance cameras, it won't get far."

"Can't let it... leave!"

"Connor, stay still!" Hank ordered as the thought of almost losing his partner, his (unexpected) friend, had a surprisingly heavy effect on his mind. "That's an order!"

Stubborn but loyal, Connor stopped trying to get up and remained where he lay on the floor while Hank kept one hand on his abdomen covering the wound and his other hand put just enough weight against Connor's shoulder to keep from moving around.

"We'll get you patched up, alright?"

"Y-You... saved me."

Hank didn't know what to say to the revived android's comment. Was it an appreciative thanks from a friend, or a cold observation from a machine?

"Yeah, I told ya' I was gonna' save ya'! Don't sound so surprised."

"...Thank you."

"You're, uh, you're welcome." Hank replied sincerely as he lifted his hand up from Connor's abdomen and stared at the blue blood staining the palm of his hand, and promptly wiped it off onto his dark coat. "Come on, kid, let's get you back to the precinct and cleaned up."

 ** _-The End  
_**


End file.
